Machine for cleaning rugs, &amp;c.



S. FARBER & vG. G. CROUCH.

MACHINE FOR C'LEANING RUGS, &c. APPLICATION FlL ED APR.21.1916.

Patented Nov. 14,1916.

3 SHEETSSHEET 1.

s. FAIIBER &'G. 0. craoucHJ MACHINE FOR CLEANING Rues,'&c.

Patented Nov. 14, 1916.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 21, I9I6.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

W NN RW NNQ I J, YE/dew 6027 00 ch,

S. FARBER & G. G. CROUCH.

MACHINE FOR CLEANING BUGS, 6w.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 21, 19I6.

Patented Nov. 14, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- GEORGE G. CROUCH, citizens of the detail.

uniting as at has a row of outletnions 13 each SAMUEL FARIBER AND GEORGE G.

macnmn non onnnnmeizues, I &c.

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that we, SAMUEL FARBEn and United States, residing at Atlanta, in the county of Fulton and State of Georgia, have invente certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Cleaning Rugs, &c.; and. we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use. the same.

This invention relates to brushing and scrubbing, and more especially to carpet cleaners; and the object of the same is'to produce a machine in which 'a carpet or rug can be' cleaned and dried.

Another object is to provide means coacting with the machine for handling the rug after it is cleaned, or for dyeing it.

These objects are carried out in a manner fully described in the following specification, and shown in the drawings wherein Figure 1 is a front elevation of this machine with certain parts broken away and in section. Fig. 2 is a right side elevation and Fig. 3 is a central longitudinal section. Fig. at is a perspective view of the vat partly broken away, and Figs. 5 and 6 are detailed views of certain rollers. Fig. 7 is a side elevation, and Fig. 8 a plan view of the clamp referred to hereinafter.

On suitable legs 1 is carried a pair of sills 2 on which are supported side plates 3, and, the sills and plates are connected by trans verse members which hold them rigidly spacedbut which need not be described in On a shelf 4 connecting the side number of tanks 5 from which 6 having individual faucets 7 8 where they communicate with the interior of a sprinkler 9 which extends across the space between the side plates and perforations 10 'near its bottom. Various and difierent liquids can be put in the several tanks, and by manipulating the faucets any desired combination or proportions of these liquids can be allowed to flow into the sprinkler and out its per forations 10.

A rotary brush 11 stands beneath the sprinkler. Its core 12 preferably has trunof which is removably seated in a socket 1a in the inner end of a short shaft 15, andheld therein by a set screw 16.

plates are a lead pipes One of the side plates is broken away in ES AE onoucir, 0F A'rLAN'rA, GEORGIA.

Letters Pat nt. PatentedNov. 14, 1916.

Application filed April '21, 1916. Serial in). 92,736.

Fig. 1 to show that said shaft is mounted in a journal box 17 which is guided vertically in an opening 18 in the side plate, and any suitable means may be employed for adjusting the two boxes 17. I

The adjusting means shown herein duplicated .on the upper wringer roller referred to below) consists of a set screw 20 threaded through a strap 21 across the opening 18, and its lower end swiveled in a socket 22 within the box 17. As shown in Fig. 1 the swivel is produced by forming a narrow groove 23 around the screw, and passing a pin or screw 24 into the box so that its tip will engage said groove. lhe upper end of the screw 20 is formed into a hand wheel 29 whose rise and fall is limited'by the top of the opening 18 and the position of the strap 21, and it is obvious that by turning this hand wheel in the proper direction the box 17 may be adjusted higher or lower and the brush or the wringer roller carried with it. Directly beneath said brush is mounted a in roll 26 whose shaft 25 is connected with the shaft of the brush by gears 27 bearing a ratio of about five to one, so that when power is applied to said shaft 15 from any suitable source, such as the power shaft 28, the brush will rotate quite rapidly in one direction and the pin roll rather slowly in the opposite direction as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 2. This roll is studded with brass pins tohold the rug or carpet in place and keep it from slipping backward or forward during the operation of cleaning. The wringer is composed of a lower roller 36 mounted in fixed bearings, and an upper roller 32 standing above it and whose shaft 35 is mounted in bearings which'may well be adjustable in the manner already described, whereby the upper roller can be borne down onto the lower with suflicient force to wring out liquid from any rug or carpet which is passed between these rollers. The upper roller runs idly, 'a sprocket 37 on one [end of its shaft. The wringer stands in rear of the brush, and these elements are separated by a hanging spatter-guard 38.

(and

while the lower roller has The feed mechanism comprises an endpasses between the wringer rollers and over the roll 26 whose pins or studs project through it.. The feed rollers 41 and 42 re- The apron also from time to time. of the vat may be spectively carry sprocket wheels 43 and 44, and over them passes a sprocket chain 45 which also engages a sprocket wheel 46 on the shaft 25 of the pin roller, whereby power is communicated to this chain and from it to the several rollers. We have not considered it necessary to show the means for conveying power to the shaft causing it to rotate in either direction at will and at the desired speed. A second spatter-guard 48 is suspended forward of the sprinkler 9 and the brush roll, with its lower edge normally in contact with the apron 40 as best seen in Fig. 3, but this guard may be raised and held upward by a support 49 as seen in Fig. 2 when a rug or carpet is to be introduced into the machine as indicated by the arrow in this view.

A vat 50 receives the drippings and soiled water, and eventually receives the rug, and by preference this vat has a box-shaped body as best seen in Fig. 4, mounted on caster wheels 51 so that it can be moved in between the sets of legs 1 and under the machine above described, and can be moved out and over the floor of the shop at will. The box has a true bottom 52- and a false bottom 53, the latter being perforated and raised above the true bottom by suitable supports 54. A faucet or other device 55 may be employed for drawing off the water In slots 56 in the walls removably journaled the trunnions of a roller 57 or a pole 58 as seen in Fig. 6; or one trunnion of the roller or one end of the pole may lie in one slot while the other trlmnion or end may be removably connected in any suitable manner with a crank handle 60, as by means of a socket and set screw 59 as seen in Fig. 5.

As thus far described, the vat is useful,

for catching the soiled water, which of course passes through the false bottom 53, and the carpet or rug after cleaning can be passed over the rear roller 42 and wound ontothe roller 57 or pole 58within the vat.

The vat can then be drawn out of place, and the wound roller subsequently. lifted out and the carpet or rug either removed from the rollenor delivered to its owner on the pole. We therefore preferably provide the roller with hooks 57' and the pole with is operated by hand.

cates a drying cylinder mounted for free hooks 58' with which the edge of the rug is engaged when it first passes over. the rear roller'42, and after being rolled up it is tied ,in a manner well'understood.

Drying mechanism is the vat, and as herein shown this drying mechanism is carried by the side plates'3 ofthe machine above described,'although it The numeral 61 rotation in hearings or extensions 63 rising from the side plates 3, 62 is a pipe admit- 28, and.

fivetimes as fast as inditing steam to the interior of this cylinder, 64 is a cock for. and 65 designates a safety valve. J ournaled in the side plates 3 are the trunnions of two rollers 66 and 67, preferably squared at one end for the selective application of a crank handle 68, and the rotation of that roller from which the crank has been removed is capable of being suitable character the brakes in turn als 70.

In Figs. 7 and 8 is shown one of two clamps which we preferably employ. Each has two arms 71 connected at one end by a hinge 72 and at the other end by a debeing controlled by pedretarded by a brake of any as indicated herein at 69,

drawing ofi" condensation,

of these arms are provided with pins 74. In their edges are rings 75 as shown and with these are to be engaged hooks 7 6 at the lower ends of chains 77 which pass upward behind a roller? 8, in rear of the tanks 5, and lead thence over the cylinder 61 and downward to rings 79 on the rear roller 67 To the rings 75 of the other clamp are also adapted to be connected hooks 86 at the lower ends of other chains 87 which lead upward over the forward roller66 and are connected with rings 89 thereinall as best seen in Fig. 3.

p The operation of the machine as thus far described is as follows: The forward spatterard 48 is raised and propped up as seen at 49. The rug to be cleaned is fed into the machine as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2, and is passed over the forward roller 41 onto the applied to drive the parts in the direction indicated by the cleansing liquid or is admitted through ipe 8 to the sprinkler 9, whoseline of per orations 1O delivers it to the brush, which latter is rotating about turn moves with'the apron 40 carrying the rug. The spatter-guards 38 and 48 (nowlowered) prevent the spattering of liquid apron 40. Power is thenv arrows, and a proper combinatlon of liquids,

the pin roll which in from the bristles which are moved very rapidly over the face ofthe rug in the presence of the dripping liquid. The parts turn the directlon of the arrow until the rug passes inwardand its rear end passes over the roller 42 and down into the vat 50, but just before its front end is passed from between the 'pin roll and brush, the direction of rotation is reversed so. that the rug moves preferably, inter-' posed'between the washing mechanism and action is continued until the surface of the forward and its front end hangs over the roller41 into the vat 50. This to-and-fro adjusted so that this roller is set nearer to the roller 36 beneath it, and in its next rearward movement the rug is squeezed between these rollers and the soiled water is wrung out of it and falls into the vat. One of the clamps above described is now engaged with the rear edge of the rug and its clasp 73 fastened, and the hooks 76 on chain 77 engaged with its rings 7 5. The crank handle 68 is then applied to the rear roller 67 and turned. and when the rug is fed farther through the wringer it canbe drawn upward by the chains 77 and over the drying cylinder 6-1. Finally the other clamp is attached to the edge of the rug when it passes through the wringer, and the hooks 86 on the other chains 87 engaged with the rings 75 of this clamp. Assuming now that steam is turned into the drying cylinder so that it is hot, the crank 68 is manipulated to slide the moist rug to the rear over this cylinder, a braking action being applied meanwhile to the roller 66 as soon as the chains 87 are drawn tight. .The crank handle is'then placed onthe trunnion of this roller and the foot on the other pedal 70,

and by proper manipulation the rug can be drawn back over the cylinder 61 in the. opposite direction. This process is repeated until all parts of the rug have been thoroughly dried, when it is drawn to the rear over the cylinder 61 for the last time, one of the clamps removed and that edge of the rug carried downward into the box-like body 50 of the vat and attached to the hooks on either the roller 57 or pole 58. Rotation shown, and bent up along its'lower portion into a utter 9 preferably havinga beaded edge w iich rests against the bristles'of the roller, and the numeral 6 designates a branch pipe which may lead from one of the other pipes or from one of the tanks 5 and which preferably has its own faucet 7 It sometimes occurs that the cleaning liquid is quite thick, and this detail is for the purpose of handling such liquid without passing it through the sprinkler 9 whose perforations 10 might become clogged thereby. Such thick liquid is passed down the pipe 6 by opening its faucet 7 and fills the gutter 9 until it overruns the beaded edge upon the brush, no matter in which direction the latter is rotating, and by said brush it is applied to the rug or carpet.

We preferably make the rear feed roller 42 hollow and perforated as shown in this View, and admit fluid to its interior through its tubular axis 42, much as steam is admitted at 62 into the cylinder 61. When the steam is admitted it flows out the perforations in this roller and through the rug or carpet, and its action thereon depends upon the condition of the steam. If the latter is moist the rug is steamed and the roller in effect becomes part of'the washing mechanism. If the steam is very hot or if, in fact, hot air is supplied instead of steam, the roller 42 becomes in effect a drier.

We have thus far described the parts which enter into the cleaning and drying of the rug, and its storage Within a movable vat which catches-the soiled'water, but an improved feature of our invention consists in the adaptability of this vat for use in dyeing a rug, carpet, or other articlewhi'ch has thus been cleaned. If it is to be dyed,

it may need'to'be carried through the cleaning step of the operation, or itmay not and it is possible to have .cleaning liquids in some of the tanks 5 and dyeing liquids in others. But as these are cold, we make provision for heating the liquid within the vat, whether it is the. sameliquid that has passed through the sprinkler or not. For this purpose a steam pipe 90 is disposed within the vat over.its true bottom 52, and is capable of connection with a source ofsteam supply, preferably through a flexible conduit which need not be illustrated. Assuming now that the rug is first cleaned, the operation is as follows: Manipulation of the proper faucet or faucets 7 permits thefiaw of cleaning liquid, which in its soiled condi tion accumulates within the vat-before the steam is turned on to the coil or pipe 90. The rug is reciprocated and washed as de scribed, and it may be driedor not as de sired. The false bottom 53 and its supports are removed from the vat, and the soiled water drawn off as at 55; or if preferred, the vat which has caught the soiled water can be moved from beneath the machine and replaced by anothervat whose false bottom, has been taken out. Whatever vat is'used in dyeing must of course have its faucet 55 closed, and the dyeing liquid willbe admitted thereto from a suitable source and to a suitable depth. Steamis thenturned on and the coil or pipe 90 heats this liquid. The rug is now passed down behind the roller, 42 and, instead of being wound on the roller 57 or pole 58, it is submerged in the hot dyeing liquid for a sufficient length of time. If such time be considerable, this vat may be run out from under'the machine and the latter employed on another rug. But after the dyeing operation is completed, the chains may be employed as above described to draw the rug out of the vat'and to reciprocate it over the drying cylinder in the manner hereinbefore set forth.

Finally it is let down in its finished condition and wound on the roller or pole as has also been described- Thus it will be seen that the so-called vat is a useful element in the machine,

whether the rug is to be dyed or not, and in the steam is out 01f.

\Ve have spoken throughout this speclfication of the cleaning of rugs and carpets,

the latter case the false bottom is used and .but it is quite obvious that other articles in sheet or strip form could be handled with equal ease.

We have been quite successful in cleaning machine belts, and a number of them can be handled simultaneously by feeding them endwise into this machine and disposing them sideby side across the apron-40.

It is' obvious that if the article being treated is such that it does not need to be wrung out, the upper wringer roller 32 can be raised so as to put this element out of action for the time.

' overlying the apron above another of said rollers and means for adjusting the upper roller vertically at will.

2. In a machine for treating rugs and the like, the combination with a feed mechanism including a plurality of rollers, an apron passing over them, and means for moving the apron to and fro; of a Washing mechanism including a brush rotating in conjunction with one of said rollers, an upper roller coacting with another of those "first mentioned, and means for lifting the rug oil the apron after it has passed said upper roller.

3. In a machine for treating rugs and the like, the combination with a feed mechanism including an apron, and means for moving the apron to and fro; of a cylinder mounted in bearings in rear of and above the apron, and chains passing over said cylmplates, individual connections between the tank and sprinkler, and a rotary brush below the latter; combined with an apron for receiving the rug, means for supporting the apron and reciprocating it beneath said brush, spatter-guards in front and rear of said brush, and means for holding the front guard elevated at will.

5. In a machine for handling rugs and the like, the combination with a framework having upright extensions at its rear end, and a feed mechanism for carrying the rug to the rear; of a drying cylinder rotatably mounted in said extensions, means for supplying a heating fluid to its interior, two rollers journaled in the framework beneath said cylinder, .a brake for application to each roller, and chains extending from the rollers and one of them'adapted to lead over said cylinder.

(i. In a machine for handling rugs and the like, the combination with a framework having upright extensionsat its rear end, and a feed mechanism for carrying the rug to the rear; of a drying cylinder rotatably mounted in said extensions, means for supplying a heating fluid to its interior, two rollers journaled in the framework beneath said cylinder, a brake for application to each roller at will, a series of chains leading from one roller and having hooks at their outer ends, a series of chains leading from the other roller over the cylinder and having hooks at their outer ends, and two rugclamps, each having a series of rings for engagement by the hooks on one series of chains.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures.

' SAMUEL FARBER.

GEORGE o. CROUCH, 

